This invention is directed to a universal poultry cage capable of raising poultry from hatching to maturity to promote production and reduce overall operating costs. It is more specifically directed to a poultry cage having a molded frame covered substantially with a non-metallic open mesh material and having a hinged floor and top to promote access and cage expansion during growth.
Poultry cages during the past have taken on many configurations and shapes which are far too numerous to define here. This area of the art is fairly well known and is fairly common. For example, poultry can be raised in open hen houses with brooders provided on the floor for the initial growth of layers and broilers. Roosts are provided as the poultry matures with nests provided for layers for the collection of eggs.
With the advent of poultry farms and in order to promote productions, buildings housing a multitude of cages were provided to increase the number of birds that could be accommodated within a given floor area. It has been found, however, that a number of various sized cages are necessary for the purpose of raising birds from hatched or young condition to maturity. This in some cases may require several cages or facilities to accomodate the birds during various stages of growth. It is a serious problem to properly rear birds in cages without having a high mortality rate, breast damage and breakage of wing bones and leg bones. In addition, if a cage for large or mature birds was used to house poultry, a high escape rate was found which necessitated the requirement of covering the face of the cage with additional restricting members. In some cases where feed troughs were provided along the front edge of the cage a problem existed in properly positioning the trough so that the young birds could feed with the trough position being changed to accomodate various stages of growth.
In addition to these problems, it became evident that the more frequent transferring and handling of poultry from one cage to another produced a traumatic condition in the birds which often resulted in injury, damage or death. Because of this, considerable production losses and downgrading of carcasses when processed existed which lowered the over-all net profit.
Another problem was found when the birds, especially broilers, are reared in cages. Up to this time, most cages have a wire floor usually made from metallic wires layed in parallel rows with cross tie members welded together forming a rigid but open surface to allow droppings or manure to pass through. Actual experience with this type of cage surface has shown that bruises and injuries occur to the breast meat and legs of the birds which require a substantial portion of the birds to be downgraded in quality with a loss of profit to the producer.
Manure and manure disposal is a continuing and expensive problem encountered in the poultry industry. When the industry began to use cages stacked one above the other it became necessary to provide some sort of shield to protect the birds in the lower cages in order to maintain clean conditions and reduce the possibility of disease. A solid sheet of material is commonly provided. The manure collects on the upper surface of these "dropping boards" and is periodically scraped off and collected.
Poultry manure appears to have possible use as feed for poultry and livestock as well as fertilizer. Moisture is a major problem both in the scraping and handling which is a messy procedure and in the drying for reuse processing. It is necessary to pass the manure through a drying process to turn the wet manure into a usable product. This additional step of drying renders the reuse economically marginal.
For the above reasons, it is an object of the present invention to provide a single universal cage which can accommodate poultry or fowl from the day of hatching to maturity.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a single universal cage which would eliminate the requirement for cages of different configurations to handle poultry of various sizes and species.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a poultry cage which is integral, light weight and self-contained and which can be handled as a single unit so as to be positioned and transported as desired without removing or disturbing the poultry.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a poultry cage which can be used for either broiler or layer type poultry and which can be mass produced with simple and economical manufacturing techniques.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a universal poultry cage which can be suspended on suitable supports in a tiered arrangement whereby a number of birds can be accomodated within a given area and which provide a simple and efficient arrangement for feed and water to the poultry along with servicing and cleaning of the cages.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a poultry cage wherein the young poultry can be restricted in a small area of the cage to limit their movement so as to promote starting ability to reduce mortality.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a poultry cage having resilient support and restraining surfaces whereby the birds will sustain a less chance of injury or bruising to maintain a high product.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a porous resilient upper or top surface in a stacked poultry cage which is capable of catching and collecting the manure droppings from the higher cages which will allow air to circulate through the residue allowing it to dry rapidly so that it can be easily removed, handled and processed.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a poultry cage wherein the floor is pivotally hinged to allow it to be opened or positionally sloped to provide rapid access to the interior of the cage as well, to increase the overall interior height of the cage to accomodate the growth of the poultry contained therein and to allow rapid removal of the birds will less harm or injury.